America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Sunday morning at nine o'clock, St. Mary's Cathedral.

Sofia came here as usual to pray, celebrate Mass, and perform other rituals.

As a devout Catholic, Sofia has always been very focused during religious ceremonies.

However, the events of the past two days have left Sofia somewhat uneasy.

The sudden death of her stepson and her husband's stroke and subsequent hospitalization, which left him unable to care for himself, completely changed Sofia's life.

To make matters worse, Sofia has been feeling like she's being watched at home for the past two days. The person watching her seems to be getting more and more brazen, making her feel incredibly oppressed.

It just so happened to be Sunday, so Sofia quickly arrived at the Cathedral of Santa Maria, escorted by two Bonanno family bodyguards.

It seems that only in the presence of God can Sophia find a moment of peace.

Because of a family emergency, Sofia didn't dress up much, but even in simple clothes and without makeup, she still exuded the charm of a mature woman.

Coupled with her melancholic and pitiful aura, she becomes even more attractive to the opposite sex.

Well, if it weren't for the two menacing-looking men in black behind her, the black-haired woman might have been frequently approached by men.

Seemingly noticing that the two men in black behind her were indeed an eyesore, Sofia gave them a word of advice before entering the church.

"You two stay at the door and wait for me."

The two men in black frowned.

"Mrs. Bonanno, Mr. Richie has ordered us to protect you at all times!"

"This is God's territory, what danger could I possibly be in? You just wait for me here!"

Sofia's attitude was very firm. The two men in black exchanged a glance, but in the end, they did not force their way in.

After all, when they look back, Sophia only needs to say a few words to decide their fate.

Sofia knelt before Jesus hanging on the cross and prayed devoutly, but she didn't actually know what she was praying for.

Faith has become Sofia's refuge, serving as a safe haven when she is uneasy and confused.

However, ships cannot stay in port forever; they always have to sail out.

Unless... it was an Indian ship that sank before it even left port.

After finishing her prayers, Sofia felt a little calmer. She put a few large US dollars into the donation box and prepared to leave the church.

As Sophia passed the confessional, she suddenly heard a young voice coming from inside.

"Madam, you seem somewhat lost."

This sentence successfully made Sofia stop in her tracks.

A confessional is a small room in a Catholic church where believers can confess their sins to clergy and repent of those sins.

(Confession Room)

After listening to the believer's confession, the clergy can grant forgiveness. During the entire process, the believer and the clergy cannot see each other.

This might also be to protect clergy. If a murderer comes to confess, even if the clergy forgives the murderer on behalf of God, the secular world will not forgive the murderer, which would put the clergy in an awkward position.

However, in modern times, it seems that only Catholicism still has confessionals.

Protestant doctrine seems to suggest that every believer can communicate with God and repent on their own, without needing to go through clergy.

Sophia felt that the young voice had a certain magic that made her unconsciously walk into the confessional and sit down.

Through the small, peculiar window in the confessional, Sophia looked across and could vaguely make out a young face.

Although it was a bit strange that such a young priest was serving as a confessional, Sophia didn't think much of it.

"Father, I am indeed a little confused."

"Then, under God's watchful eye, speak out the confusion in your heart, and I believe that a merciful God will surely guide you."

The young priest's voice had a reassuring quality that compelled Sophia to begin telling her story.

"Father, I once had a happy and fulfilling family life, with loving parents, but this wonderful life was completely destroyed one day 10 years ago!"

"Madam, what happened?"

Sofia took a few deep breaths before continuing to speak; clearly, these painful memories were also a form of torture for her.

"At a banquet, I caught the eye of that devil. He wanted me to be his wife, but I didn't want to marry an old man, so I refused. And then..."

At this point, Sofia choked up.

"He orchestrated a scheme that caused my father to incur huge debts, leading him to commit suicide by hanging. My mother also fell seriously ill and was bedridden as a result. To pay for my mother's medical expenses, I had no choice but to marry that monster."

"But my mother also passed away soon after. From then on, I became a canary in a cage, completely losing my freedom."

Sofia finally broke down in tears. She had been suppressing her emotions for far too long. In Bonanno Manor, she had no way to open up. This was perhaps the first time in ten years that she could speak her mind.

"Didn't you choose to resist?"

The young priest's words made Sophia somewhat angry.

"I'm just a woman, what can I do?"

"Hehe, women are just as destructive as men, especially beautiful women."

Sophia fell silent. She understood what the young priest meant, but she was just an ordinary woman with a weak personality, at most a little pretty.

If Sofia were truly that strong, perhaps old Martin wouldn't have had to wait until he suffered a stroke.

"Perhaps you are right, but it's all too late. That demon is already hospitalized and can no longer do evil."

"No, no, no! A rare canary will not be freed just because its original owner dies. A new owner will continue to control the canary until it completely loses its luster."

Sophia's eyes widened as she suddenly recalled the strange look Francis had been giving her recently, and the ever-present spying throughout the manor.

"No, really?"

"Madam, never underestimate the evil within human nature!"

The young priest's words left Sofia feeling confused and also somewhat strange.

Because such words are not something a proper priest should say.

Just then, someone suddenly burst into the young priest's room.

"Who are you? Why are you in the confessional?"

"Uh, I'm the new priest in charge of confession."

"Nonsense! I've never seen you before! And I'm the priest in charge of confessions!"

As they were talking, the two people opposite them started to pull at each other.

This situation almost smoothed out the wrinkles in Sofia's cerebral cortex. She quickly left the confessional and saw an older priest pulling a handsome young Asian man along.

"Hey! Don't pull my clothes! This is a handmade suit, it's very expensive!"

"You blasphemer, get out of here!"

"Stop! I'm willing to use something to resolve our misunderstanding!"

(Sofia Bonanno)